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Charter-Granting Agencies

Roles and Responsibilities of Charter-Granting Agencies
In California, charter schools are approved and overseen by school districts, county offices of education, and the State Board of Education. These charter-granting agencies have four primary responsibilities:

    1. Charter petition review
    2. Developing operational relationships
    3. Oversight and monitoring
    4. Renewal

Toolkits designed for Charter-Granting Agencies
To help charter-granting agencies with their challenging task, the Charter Schools Development Center has developed the Charter-Granting Agencies' Tool Kit with sample documents gathered from across the country to help charter-granting agencies with this challenging task. Section one contains resources on how to review charter petitions, including sample charters, suggested charter evaluation criteria, sample charter review process, sample financial plans and business plan criteria, and pre-operations school start-up check lists. Section two includes sample documents related to the operational relationships with charter schools in such areas as funding arrangements, special education, facilities and administrative services.

Section three provides an array of documents addressing charter school monitoring, oversight and renewal. Includes several examples of broad-based charter school accountability plans. It contains sample annual report guidelines, evaluation criteria, and reports. If your agency wishes to conduct site visits, you will find sample site visit protocols, processes and reports very helpful. You will also find sample documents related to academic performance, fiscal and legal monitoring.

To order a copy of the Charter-Granting Agencies' Tool Kit, click here.

Helpful Web Sites

"Big Picture" Charter School Policy and Law

Charter Friends National Network
The Friends Network offers a variety of resources that address State and Federal charter school policy and practice issues. Director Jon Schroeder monitors federal and other charter activities nationally. Its website contains several of the Network's in-depth reports on facilities, partnerships with school design and management firms, and other topics. www.charterfriends.org.

National Charter Schools Web Site
This extensive web site addresses a wide range of charter school topics and includes a wealth of basic charter school-related information. Funded by the US Department of Education and managed by the WestEd Lab, it also sponsors an electronic forum for charter-granting agencies. www.uscharterschools.org.

State-Level Organizations

Arizona Department of Education
This website contains a detailed Charter School Handbook and other illustrative resources. www.ade.state.az.us/charterschools/info/.

Colorado Department of Education
This website contains their detailed charter school information packet and other resources. www.cde.state.co.us/index_charter.htm.

District of Columbia Public Charter School Board
This website contains on-line versions of their charter application and other helpful resources. www.dcpubliccharter.com.

Massachusetts Department of Education
This website contains their application and draft accountability process information. www.doe.mass.edu/ca.

Minnesota Department of Children, Families, and Learning
This website contains several helpful sample documents on charter granting and development. http://cfl.state.mn.us/charter/.

Helpful Publications

Background and Research

National Study of Charter Schools, 4th Year Report. Sponsored by the US Department of Education, this report provides authoritative information of the state of the charter school movement as of 1999 (www.ed.gov/pubs/charter4thyear/). Additional information from this four-year study, beyond the basic data provided in this report, should be published soon and will be posted to the federal resources section of the national web site at www.uscharterschools.org.

Comparison of State Charter School Laws, 1998. Charter school laws vary widely from state-to-state. This helpful publication displays the major features of 37 state charter school laws on detailed tables that allow for easy comparisons across states on a wide range of issues. Though increasingly dated in an era of frequently amended state charter laws, this is a helpful resource to provide policy context when interpreting charter documents from other states. Available at www.uscharterschools.org/pdf/fr/charter_legis.pdf.

What Does it Mean to Ask "Is Charter Schools Working?" Available at www.charterfriends.org/working.html.
Accountability
Charter School Accountability Action Guide. Available at www.pioneerinstitute.org/csrc/accountability/acctguide.cfm.

Charter School Accountability: A Guide to Issues and Options for Charter Authorizers. Available at www.uscharterschools.org/gb/account_auth/.

The Charter Review Process: A Guide for Chartering Entities. Provides a well-written, practical overview of how to develop a basic charter proposal review process. Available at www.uscharterschools.org/pub/uscs_docs/gb/entities.htm.

Leveraging System-Wide Change

Choice for School Boards: A New Role. Ted Kolderie. In January/February 1997 issue of Minnesota School Boards Association Journal.

Preface (pp. VII-XI) to Reinventing Public Education. Paul Hill, Lawrence Pierce, and James Guthrie. Univ. of Chicago Press, 1997.

Comprehensive Guides for Developers and Operators
Charter School Development Guide. Available at www.cacharterschools.org/starting.html.

Massachusetts Charter School Handbook. Available at www.pioneerinstitute.org/csrc/cshb/.

Specific Topics

Charter Schools and Special Education: A Handbook. Published by the National Association of State Directors of Special Education, this federally-sponsored report provides a helpful and easy-to-understand overview of special education laws and how they fit (and at times don't fit) with state charter school laws and practices. This is must reading for the charter school and special education novice. Available at www.uscharterschools.org/cs/spedp/print/uscs_docs/spedp/home.htm

Charting a Clear Course: A Resource Guide for Charter Schools Contracting with School Management Organizations. Available at www.publiccharters.org/content/publication/detail/548.

If the Shoe Fits: A Guide for Charter Schools Considering Adoption of a Comprehensive School Design. Available at www.wested.org/csrd/resources.html.

Making Matches that Make Sense: Opportunities and Strategies for Linking Charter Schools and Comprehensive Design Organizations. Not currently available electronically.

 

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